Worcester Sharks lack the big bite

Season after season, the Manchester Monarchs are one of the AHL's stingiest teams when it comes to giving up goals. Since the Sharks see them a dozen times a year, they know that only too well.

So, when Worcester gets its chances, it has to connect. That didn't happen here Wednesday night and the Sharks wound up losing, 2-1.

The defeat snapped Worcester's three-game winning streak against the Monarchs. As part of that, the Sharks had won two straight up here. With the victory, Manchester jumped the Sharks and is in third place in the AHL's Atlantic Division with 32 points.

Worcester has 31 points, three behind first-place Portland.

“They do a good job on the back end,” Sharks coach Roy Sommer said of the Monarchs' defense. “They make it hard to get to the net and you don't get many chances. When you do, you've gotta be able to bury them.”

James Livingston had the only goal for Worcester while Stefan Legein and Andy Andreoff scored for Manchester. Both goalies, Al Stalock for the Sharks and Peter Mannino for the Monarchs, had strong games.

Mannino was at his best in the third period when Worcester outshot the home team, 13-3.

“We played a good third period,” Sommer said. “I thought it was our best period. I mean, we played a good game. It wasn't a blowout or anything. We just didn't put away our chances.”

Livingston's second goal of December, and of the season, provided the Sharks with a 1-0 lead that they carried into the second period.

It was a simple enough play with Freddie Hamilton getting the puck back to Matt Irwin at the left point. From there, Irwin drilled a slap shot that Mannino got a pad on. Livingstone went to the net, though, and quickly slid home the rebound at 9:25.

It marked the 13th time this season Worcester has scored the first goal of the game. That normally leads to victory about 70 percent of the time, but the Sharks have won only seven of those games.

Stalock preserved the lead with a sensational split save on Linden Vey with Worcester killing a penalty at 15:30, and it was mostly goaltending that allowed the Sharks to head to the dressing room up by 1-0.

The Monarchs scored twice in two minutes in the second period, however, to take the lead.

Legein entered the Sharks' zone as part of a two-on-two, with one of the Worcester defenders being forward Bracken Kearns.

The Sharks gave him too much room, and Legein cut left to right and beat Stalock with a low wrist shot from between the circles to tie it at 6:35.

Andreoff put Manchester ahead at 8:30. Mike Banwell couldn't control a bouncing puck at the left point and Andreoff zipped down ice leading a two-on-one. Using a teammate as a decoy, Andreoff snapped a 30-footer past Stalock from the right side.

Livingston nearly tied it three minutes later with a fine individual effort, outskating the Manchester defense down the left wing to set up a clear shot from in close. Mannino turned it aside and kept his team in the lead.

In the third period, and especially in the final five minutes, the Sharks had several excellent chances. One of the best was a down-the-slot breakaway by John McCarthy, set up by Tim Kennedy's pass, but Mannino stoned him.

And that helped turn a potential point, or maybe even two, into a quiet ride home.